Sexual Assault Prevention and Reduction Update

April 2012

Members of the Dartmouth community are deeply committed to addressing the problem of sexual assault on campus and have been diligently working to tackle this problem – a complex issue without simple solutions. Below sets forth efforts we have underway toward realizing this goal.

In the spring of 2010, months into his Dartmouth presidency, Jim Yong Kim created the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault (SPCSA) to develop programs to reduce the risk of sexual assault. Work by the College and the Committee includes:

• Increased funding for the Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) program. The R.A.D. program was developed to empower women through self-defense. This empowerment is taught through four basic principles: education, dependency on self, making their own decisions, and realization of their own power.

• Implementation of a nighttime Safe Ride service, beginning in January 2011, to transport students so that they do not have to walk alone across campus. The service, operated by students and campus Safety and Security Officers every evening from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., provided 547 rides during fall term 2011.

• Implementation of "Bringing in the Bystander," a program which focuses on building confidence and skills that enable students to intervene in potentially dangerous situations. The first campus-wide workshop was held in February 2012.

• Hiring of Aurora Matzkin '97 MA, PhD, to work in a new position, special assistant to the President for Student Health. Matzkin coordinates efforts on sexual assault and high risk drinking.

• Hiring of a second Sexual Abuse Awareness Program (SAAP) coordinator Rebekah Carrow. In the last year, coordinators Amanda Childress and Carrow have helped to implement programming across campus, targeting sexual assault on campus. They are the primary contacts for questions regarding intimate partner and sexual violence. SAAP Coordinators provide crisis intervention, emotional support, and assistance with medical, psychological, judicial, and legal resources. They also assist with academic and living concerns, safety planning, advocacy, outside referrals, and offer debriefing and consultation, along with educational sessions, trainings and works for students, faculty, staff or groups.

• Work with consultant Jen Sayre '93, a national expert on sexual assault prevention, on the Bystander Intervention Program. Sayre is also a consultant and trainer to universities, nonprofit organizations, and the military on bystander intervention programs that target sexual assault.

• Lecture by Jackson Katz, author, filmmaker, educator, and social theorist. Katz spoke at Dartmouth in May 2011 on the importance of men playing a greater role in the prevention of gender-based violence. He is co-founder of the Mentors in Violence Prevention program, a leading gender violence prevention initiative in professional and college athletics. He is also director of the first worldwide sexual and domestic violence prevention program in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Founded in 2006, MAV is a student-led organization that facilitates discussion of proactive approaches to prevent sexual assault among Greek and affinity houses, athletic teams, residence halls, and all student organizations at Dartmouth. MAV has more than 100 trained mentors and also participates in programming to change social norms and help foster an environment free from sexual assault and violence.

SAPAs serve as a campus resource to those students who have been confronted with issues of sexual abuse and intimate partner violence. SAPA is a peer advising group sponsored by Dartmouth's Health Promotion Department. The Sexual Abuse Awareness Program Coordinators serve as the advisors.

• Hosting of a symposium in January 2012 by the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault (SPCSA), designed to foster communication and collaboration among students, faculty, administrators, and alumni in order to maximize the impact of ongoing and future work on sexual assault. SPCSA recommendations from the symposium are forthcoming.